I was 16 and driven
So I titled this blog: “I was 16 and driven” because I want this to inspire my current not as driven self.
This was me 14 and driven helping young women in north London. I think this was when I new I would always be someone who wanted the best for people especially those who were oppressed!
I remember this day clearly like it was yesterday because watching it shocked me to the core from that day onwards. I don’t know if this is still a show on tv if anyone my age or above will most likely be nodding their heads at this but there was a show on tv called NEWS ROUND it was for the teen’s and young people on CBBC it was a news show telling everyone about the news of the world. During that show they showed this video:
I was sitting there on my sofa at the age of 16 thinking this is not right something needs to be done. I had no fear and I began talking to anyone who would listen I wanted to do something about it. Talking to some friends and adults then lead to a group of us planning an event at a local community day loads of people turned up and took part in our activities and donated money yet still felt there’s was more that could be done. This began a continued passion in me to do something to bring justice. More picking up anything I could read about it the more and more I realised this was only the cusp of what I could do as a young person. I had to do more it wasn’t enough for me to wear a t-shirt or do a sponsored silence.
Writing a letter to my MP and telling him about my concerns as a 16-year-old. I became so obsessed with supporting and reading all about different surviour stories and wanting to go a volunteer for a charity over time as I got older I changed my tune because I understood that it was just about rescuing people it was about seeing them completely turn their life around including changing their mindset. Holistic becoming a different person not being trapped in the mindset that person had gained whilst in slavery.
In 2016 taking part in a race fund rasing. This included running the Taupo Marthon in New Zealand, to raise money to, Volunteer overseas and that happened in 2017 when I traveled to Asia. A journey, that invovelved Supporting individuals working with young women and children in situations of slavery. Particulary in a very touristy city where girls would work in brothels and dance bars to make ends meat because they we providing for there family and forced into that way of life. Being left with very little money to even support themselves. Also this included opportunity of interaction and conversation with people in those situations.
Along this Journey it gave me a fresh eye and a renewed understanding of what I could do, that being, it is now the reason I am involved in supporting and photographing for Blue Bear Coffee co.
“Blue Bear is committed to eradicating slavery from its supply chain, by specifically sourcing its coffee from independent farmers across the world.
We are diligent in ensuring our coffee is produced without anyone being exploited, paying our farmers well above the fair trade market rate.
At Blue Bear we believe in excellence and only stock coffee of the finest quality, exclusively selling Speciality Grade Arabica beans.
Blue Bear invites you to experience a diversity of delicious coffees from around the world, whilst engaging in the fight to end human trafficking.”
Just taking one step and time..
By doing what I can in who I am to bring Justice and Freedom to all.
The Person Behind Jungle Floor Creative
Hey Friends,
I’m in my 30s, I’m well travelled and a bubbly person with a heart for justice.
I‘m a photographer, sewist, runner, yogi and I love to read.
My favourite book would be the Hobbit and I’m a massive fan of series’, including Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Pitacus Lore books.
Outside of my small business I work as a youth worker for a really awesome organisation, however, often it can be draining on my mental health. I’m also in the process of completing a Masters in Youth and Community Work.
I really loved living overseas in the Southern Hemsphire however, eventually I return to the UK and now I am pretty much settled. Whose to say though that I won’t try and go back when I can.
Favourite foods include Korean, Ramen, Mexican, soup, Turkish and a good BBQ.
Favourite plant family Alocasia
Favourite plant to prop Alocasia
Most sucessful moments in my life include:
Learning to sew | running the Taupo Marathon | doing a Masters | travelling by myself | starting a business | writing for a travel blog | learning to drive | hiking 10,000 feet | getting a BA Hons | Paragliding of a mountain |
I lived in Milan for a month until I quickly gave up and went back to the UK. I did see rather a lot of the city, particularly this building called Bosco Verticale which means vertical forest.
During my time there I worked as an au pair, trying to make money for my next trip, but I readily became homesick and so around Christmas 2018 I flew back to Standsted airport ready to see family again.
The image in the middle is on the set tour of Hobbiton in Matamata in New Zealand. I got the chance to visit there twice in the 3 years of living in New Zealand.
Photo 4 is because of my love for coffee.
Image 5 is because i really love Turkish food and I’ve visited turkey many times.
I enjoy drawing and being creative. I also love trying to make new foods that I used to love eating when i lived in Melbourne. I photograph anywhere or anything - personally I love taking pictures of funky London streets. I made that dress and make a lot of my own clothes. - Photography - eating different cuisines
Lastly because you might ask this being someone who traveled a lot, I used to have a blog on travel places and if you want I could write some of that stuff on here, Nevertheless, here’s a list of a few places: Nepal, Italy, Australia, Melbourne, Sydney, Cambridge, Sheffield, Manchester, New Zealand, London, China, France, Turkey, Spain.
Want to share one of my. favourites songs at the moment.
Adele - Hold on
Soil Ninja
“”Soil Ninja! Does what it says on the bag, Help growth into the plant so Ninja like you don’t even realise half time its happened” ”
Throughout my blog posts I am going to share with you some different recommendations and thoughts, so keep reading.
These thoughts are mainly my own however, I may ask people in the planty community for some of their thoughts and recommendations to break up my ramblings.
Soil Ninja Review
This review comes from the Soil Ninja experience including other people in the plant community.
I wanted to take the time to include other plant lovers’ opinions regarding why they would recommend soil ninja as a great shop for plant potting needs.
I’ve also gained knowledge through conversations and resources from the Soil Ninja’s website.
As I happily embark on my fourth year growing my jungle and the beginning of my second year of using soil ninja, I wanted to share my Soul Ninja ad my first recommendation.
I think it was @lockdownplantmum that first introduced me to Soil Ninja through her stories. She rated them highly even though she had only just started her planty Insta around lockdown.
“What do you like about soil Ninja?”
“it’s high quality products with stuff I wouldn’t normally bother putting in and its mixed already for you.” ”
There are main great plant sellers who are slowly creating soil that suits the plant family, however I’ve always stuck to Soil Ninja.
This, however, was just one of many planty people buzzing around how good Soil Ninja is which really encouraged me to give it a go.
As I’ve said before in other blog posts I have been dealing with plants from a young age, however I really started collecting at the end of 2018 which was when my love for plants and to create an indoor jungle began.
When my love for plants started I was using various soil mixtures, from places like Homebase and B&Q. Then in 2020 after moving house and losing a lot of my plants, this love for plants started to grow into a sense of enjoyment. My collection increased in size and I found out all the do’s and don’ts through learning - doing or failing once or twice for that matter.
Growing an indoor jungle means making sure your plants get the best care possible.
Growing the space into a jungle, I decided that I wanted to try something else when it came to the soil. I made an effort by mixing soils according to research, however, it was still not completely best practice.
I got frustrated with the moist yucky texture or completely dry mix from Homebase or B&Q - even chucking in perlite in didn’t seem enough. I still dealt with problems with root rot. The soil was lacking the right chunkiness and drainage.
In the beginning, I moved away from buying plants at garden centres and started to follow more people on Insta. Many people in the plant community seemed to keep talking about a shop for soil called Soil Ninja, so I felt that it was time to give it a go.
As much as being a person who may like a bargain, wanting to know where and what we buy is especially important if you care about something that much.
Do you want the best for your plants?
Do you want them to have the right conditions to grow in?
My first-order was small as they have small bags of soil which is great if you just want to try it out or if you’re only re-potting a few.
““What I did like about them is that they had small bags sizes so if I just needed a quick top up it was great for that, And they always have good tips in the packaging””
I began the journey using Soil Ninja with a Mantra and Alocasia, finding that they quickly thrived.
What makes Soil Ninja especially great is its quick delivery. When you’re not sure what soil to use as someone new to house plants, Soil Ninja’s mixes were greatly helpful to get you on your way.
You don’t need to build your own mix and Soil Ninja knows their stuff, doing the research on the soil mixes for each plant and what it would grow in the wild. A great starter for providing your plants with the best chance, by knowing what is best to grow them in. Soil Ninja states on the front page of their website:
“”Peat Free Soil Blends””
The website is so easy to navigate around with some info on their soil and where it comes from. They are very much about quality and working with others to make the business. There have a part of there page called Dojo with introducing different great information on various things around the soil and best ways to store it. I really love how easy it is to also add to the mixes and however and always a friendly team willing to help you in any way they can.
“I like soil ninja because it’s run by some lovely people and you always know you’re getting quality products from them! I couldn’t run my greenhouse this successfully without using their sphagnum moss! Plus my Hoyas LOVE it”
The question you may ask is, they cant have mixes for everything think, can they? Yes, there may not have the name of the plant family but they have created this awesome plant index which I’ve happened to laminate myself by adding to my door where all my soil is kept and organized into boxes. It is all laid out on a useful table, in alphabetical order of plant family. The Index is useful for showing you, Which plant family, the Common Name, Type of plant, Soil Mix, and better yet a view pointers.
Do you have to stick to their mixes? No, you don’t have to you can also buy components from Soil Ninja as well as various Ehlo Accessories, pots, and lights and there often choose to partner with designers and artists to support independence and often is possible to buy from other planty independents. “But also if you want to make your own or customise one of theirs you can get separate components.” @goodgrowing
What will it cost me? I’ve heard from few people that Soil Ninja is pricy but this isn’t for everything. They have a very large variety of eco friendly Substrates, And sauce things like the “Sphagnum Moss is sustainable from wales which is always a plus for me. And it’s living moss so it stays way more moist in my experience” @goodgrowing
“My favourite are the ready made soil mixes.. especially Anthurium and Alocasia as my plants absolutely thrive in them!” @chaotic_mum
What makes Soil Ninja your favorite? I think mainly because it’s good quality the team is helpful and friendly and it is delivered straight to your door the next day. If you have a small space to store your stuff Its a great benefit having a company like soil ninja that means you can really benefit from the bag sizes and their spag moss is such great quality!!!
“I love soil ninja because it’s quite easy, The premade mixes are all designed to be the best for those plants and I don’t need to mix them myself! My plants have been happy in the mixes and usually grow lots, I like the added worm castings for fertilisation too. Their customer service is good and they’ve been helpful when I’ve had questions.” @bexbotanical
“I’ve gotten a few soil components from soil ninja before & liked the quality” Anonymous..
“I think their components are nice and their products are good quality” Anonymous..
Even with Soil Ninja’s smaller bags they do go up to 5 litres which is great doing a bulk order is always a must the soil is chunky or less chunking depend of the mix
““Clean products, I buy mainly because its so neat and tidy, Price is fairly ok with soil ninja, benefit from bulk buying due to delivery charge. But we pay a similar price for plant delivery as well” ”
When you order your soil ninja you’ll always find someone really awesome to help you out with your order if you run into any problems as often we make the mistake of forgetting to add something to order. I’ve always known that the team is super quick to respond to your social DM or emails that you send to them. They answer questions regarding the best product to produce a help blog about pests or spotlight on their different substrates that you can buy through the shop as well as various awesome mixes relating to poplar plant families.
Soil Ninja also provides other products to help with your potting needs.. including moss poles and grow lights and they are always ready to help you either through emailing them or following them on social media.
Small bags
They also provide great customer service
lots of help if needed.
A plant index
Quality Soil Components and Mixes
great information
and it looks super designer
and they support small business.
“Aside from their social media presence and popularity amongst hobbyists, I really liked their care guides as a reference point. I also appreciated being able to purchase all the different components in addition to complete but customised substrate mixes.” @veryperlite
Soil Ninja provides prompt shipping and next day delivery just like plants
Heres some more quotes from users of Soil Ninja !!
“I love the premixed soils from soil ninja. I find it easier as I own quite alot of different types of plants, to buy the specific soil mix and know that my plants will be happy with it!”
The reason I’ve chosen to write this blog is because
1. Soil Ninja provides Soil 2. I hand sew potting mats 3. this is coming from being affiliated with soil ninja
4. being someone who recommends them highly 5. I love plants
These are just some thoughts and a review I have thrown together if you have any questions please email me or check out the SoilNinjia Website.
I hope you enjoyed my planty recommendations until next time
“KEEEP GROOWWING”
My Plant Recommendation
I’ve been potty about plants for a while now i used to be obsessed with growing sweet peas every year whilst I was in one place long enough at the right time. However, much to previous flat mates and currently family I love house plants. The varieties the rare ones and the not so rare ones the bold and beautiful the simple yet elegant I truly believe in the beauty of how they can be for your mental health. The feeling I get when you see a leaf pop up or when you experience those fuzzy roots wrapping around the soil to grasp every bit of nutrients and the way some plants will be towards the light or dance gracefully throughout the day.
I filmed this plant above for 24 hours to see what it did and I also noticed that Both moved, all my childhood dreams of toys waking up came true.
My collection of house plants has changed so much since I started and even before the real collection began I was always often seen in Feb preparing my sweet peas. When I was maybe 9/10/11 years old when I grew my first real plant in the garden this young boy who lived in the house that backed into our street their family was about to move out from the house and they had a lovely rose bush in there house and decided to cut me a rose of that bush and after the flower wilted I planted it into the ground, its ended up growing into a beautiful climbing bush. But my first two official house plants were a trusty Aloe Vera, She’s huge now and she flowered this year for the first time. It's just a shame I don’t have a picture of when she was very small and I had a pinky red Gymnocalycium Mihanovichii - Hibotan Cactus - Grafted 'Moon Cactus'. And now its grown I’ve fully lost count of how many but hands down my favourite planty family is Alocasia. This is why….
Growing Red Secret Alocasia From Corms
What I enjoy the most about my plants its being able to watch them grow especially when i grow them from the little corm like I often do with my Alocasia. The idea and the fun of watching something you grew for a small seed of Corm or Bulb and watch it grow into a beautiful baby plant makes me feel good about myself. I have a habit of looking at them often getting excited by each little moment of new growth. When the white roots start peeking out or a tiny shot shows. The lovely darling colour of the first leaf and I squeak in excitement as I think with a sense of purpose living in the moment enjoying the enjoyment of the new growth.
If you want to get yourself an alocasia as a House Plant. I’m gonna give you five tips: